Clothes-pin.



iwf/wa V. D. HILLMAN...

CLOTHES PIN.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. sq. 1916.

l ,804, Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

3mm/Ito@ VHz'Umal/z 'man VINCENT DUNCAN I-IILLIVIAN, OF FLORIDA, CUBA.

CLOTHES-PIN.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 30, 1916. Serial No. 128,580.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, VINCENT DUNCAN HILLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Florida, in the Province of Camaguey, Cuba, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Pins;

and I do hereby declare the following to lbe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in clothes pins, and particularly to wire clothes pins.

One object of the present invention is to provide a clothes pin of this character which is formed from a single length of wire, thereby simplifying and cheapening the cost of manufacture of the device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clothes pin which includes a pair of gripping jaws, each of which is formed with a resilient compressible element whereby there is produced a double resilient grip on the clothes as they hang on the line.

Other objects and advantages will vbe apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a front elevation of a clothes pin made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device in use, showing the action of the gripping jaws.

Referring particularly to the accompanying drawing it will be seen that the device is formed of a single length of suitably stiff wire. The wire is bent intermediate its length into a plurality of helical turns 10, the ends thereof being extended in approximate parallel relation from the coils and then formed into loops 11 which serve as handles for the device. The other ends of the loops are given a single turn around the first portions, adjacent the coils, as shown at 12, from whence they are extended beyond the other side of the coils, as shown at 13. The extremities of these last-named portions are formed into spiral coils 14:, the

bases or larger ends being directed inwardly toward each other. Y l

In the use of the device the handles are f Patented oct. 9, 1917.

grasped and pressed toward each other with the result that the coils 14 are moved away from each other. kThe device is then passed in straddling relation over the line and clothes, and thenreleased from the hand so ,as to grip the vclothes below the line. The spiral coils 111 will resilently engage with the clothes from opposite sides, the spring 10 exerting suflicient pressure to hold the jaws in proper gripping position. The fact that the inner ends of the loops of the handles are engaged with each other produces a rigid structure so that more effective actuation of the coil 10 can be accomplished when the handles are pressed toward each other.v

Were they not so connected, one portion of each of the loops would have a tendency to move inwardly toward the coils and thus greatly reduce the neffectiveness of the device, and greatly increase, or nullify the effort necessary to turn the coils and separate the jaws.

What is claimed is:

A clothes pin consisting of a spring wire -including spaced arms and a connecting portion from which the arms extend in the same general direction, the arms terminating in coaxial conical spring spirals extending from the arms toward each other with their maximum convolutions adjacent.

In testimony whereof, I aliix my vsigna-k ture, in the presence of two witnesses. j

VINCENT DUNCAN I-IILLMAN.

Witnesses:

LUTHER MoKnNzIE, 'JOSEPH Sooners.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissionerof Patents,

Washington, D. CJ 

